Yea, I think it's a bit cyclic. Sponsored training is a relic of corporate DNA, the burden has been shifted to candidates as a pre-qualification for landing a job. It hasn't made sense to get trained for manufacturing skills amid the domestic manufacturing downsizes and high risks for being laid off. The remaining workforce is aging and nobody's willing to pay for training new local replacements.

I'm convinced that if you raise the wages and bring back corporate training, then more skilled workers will start to come out of the woodwork. But apparently that's alot to ask when the cost differences between local and offshore labor is still so great. Most multinational corporations will need some additional justification.

Edit: I'm anxious to see what apple does and how good of a model it can be for others. Of course they're particularly wealthy, but with a little luck maybe it can convince others to bring back manufacturing?

I feel terrible when 100% of the stuff in my office is made elsewhere. Not a damn thing gets made here. That's not entirely true, when I last surveyed the pencils were from USA.

I think we also have to bring back vocational schools. The town's community college used to offer those same skills in classes. Some manufactures would pay for their employees to take certain skills and offer raises after taking them, but they weren't too expensive to pay out of pocket (~ $100).